Andy Pettitte could be throwing off a mound before the end of the week. The lefthander took a significant step in his return from a fractured left ankle when he threw off flat ground Tuesday before the Yankees beat the Blue Jays at the Stadium. Joe Girardi said Pettitte threw three sets of 20 pitches and tested himself during the last one.Alex Rodriguez also took a major step in his rehab:
“For two of the sessions, he did not push off much,” Girardi said. “In the last session, he basically did 10 or 12 pitches where it was his normal windup. He actually looked really good.”
... After Tuesday’s session, Girardi said of Pettitte’s next move “our hope is it’s a mound, a bullpen. We’ll have to see how he feels in the next couple days.”
He said that would likely occur Friday or Saturday.
New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez took live batting practice on Tuesday afternoon, the first time he's done so since fracturing his left hand on July 24 against the Seattle Mariners.So despite the two losses to the Jays, not all is bad in Yankeeland.
General manager Brian Cashman said on ESPN NewYork 98.7's "The Michael Kay Show" that if everything goes well, Rodriguez could begin a minor league rehab stint over the weekend. Cashman added that he believes A-Rod can be back earlier than mid-September, but also didn't want to put a firm date on it.
"So far, so good," Rodriguez said. "My legs are coming under me, and I see light at the end of the tunnel. My expectation is to come back at full strength and help this team win."
It’s no secret…I haven’t been in the blogging “mood” lately (it comes and it goes). But I haven’t just been sitting around re-reading the entire Harry Potter series… I have also been planning and preparing for my first birthday party in 27 years!
In celebration of turning 39 (for the first time), I hosted my own party on Saturday night. I cooked and decorated, and then enjoyed the company of family and friends-we-love-like-family.
My daughter designed these cute invitations for me:
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…and that set the stage for a pinwheel-themed party ;-)
There was a wreath on the front door, softened by some wide tulle ribbon:
A pinwheel garland, also strung on wide tulle ribbon:
…and more pinwheels appeared on the dessert buffet…
…as well as one of my hand-painted signs (seemed appropriate for a party, don’t you think??) 
…and what was for dessert, you ask? Well, there was
So you can see that cooking took a higher priority over blogging last week (there was also two kinds of lasagna and homemade cheesy bread). I ran out of time to take more pictures before the guest arrived.
Since I couldn’t share my goodies with all of you, I thought I’d share some goodies from my Etsy shop instead. Through Friday, August 31, you can get 10% off your purchase with the code 39BIRTHDAY.
Standing behind the batting cage in Chicago early Wednesday night, Robin Ventura measured his words before speaking.Ventura make some good points, but I still wouldn't put Jeter at the top, not ahead of guys like Ruth and Gehrig. As of this moment I'd put him 5th behind Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle. If he ends up with 4,000+ hits, he'll jump in those rankings, that's for sure.
The first-year White Sox manager is aware of the Yankees’ rich history, having played for the team during his 16 seasons in the big leagues.
So when asked about shortstop Derek Jeter’s recent torrid streak vaulting him into the AL Most Valuable Player discussion, Ventura went a lot further than a single-season award.
“I think he is the greatest Yankee of all time,’’ Ventura told The Post. “That’s because of the position he plays and the era he plays in. Every play he has ever made is on tape. The players before him, nobody ever saw them fail. All we saw of them was them doing good. Every one of Derek’s games has been on television. He has been criticized more than any other player in Yankee history, too. At least among the ones that were good.’’
Think about Ventura’s first sentence: Jeter ahead of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra. To some, it’s blasphemy. But Ventura doesn’t talk to shock people.
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“As a manager, I don’t like for him to come up with guys on base, I don’t want him to come up when it’s tied, when they need somebody on base, and I don’t want him coming up late in the game to win it,’’ Ventura said. “He is still that kind of player.’’
The Yankees placed starting pitcher Ivan Nova on the disabled list today, the team announced, when an MRI exam discovered inflammation in his right rotator cuff.This also allows the struggling Joba Chamberlain to stay on the active roster, which I believe is a mistake. David Phelps will also remain in the rotation until Nova returns.
Nova will not play catch for at least five days. After visiting with team physician Christopher Ahmad in New York, Nova will be prescribed medicine and rest.
Placing Nova on the DL also clears a roster spot for ace lefty CC Sabathia, who is expected to be activated for Friday's series opener against the Indians.
Hot on the heels of being voted baseball's MOP -- Most Overrated Player -- in a Sports Illustrated poll back in May, and another by Men's Journal that named him baseball's MHP -- Most Hated Player -- in June comes word that A-Rod has topped another anonymous SI poll: according to the magazine, he is also "baseball's biggest phony", whatever that means. A-Rod "won'' the poll with a whopping 26 percent of the vote.What is there to say about this besides that I really hope A-Rod comes back and tears the cover off the ball.
.... The runner-up in the voting is none other than the Yankees' own Nick Swisher, who garnered 14 percent. Swisher also ran second to A-Rod in the MHP voting. Is Swish poised to make a run at the man at the top?
Ivan Nova will likely miss his next start after feeling tightness near his right shoulder in the sixth inning of Tuesday night's loss to the White Sox.Feinsand also mentioned that Joe Girardi did not rule out a trip to the DL for Nova. If that happens, David Phelps would remain in the rotation.
Nova is being sent back to New York Wednesday to be examined by Yankees team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad.
Former Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon of the Oakland Athletics was suspended for 50 games Wednesday after testing positive for testosterone.Seriously, what the **** is wrong with these guys?
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"I apologize to the fans, to my teammates and to the Oakland A's," Colon said in a statement released by the players' association. "I accept responsibility for my actions and I will serve my suspension as required by the joint drug program."
He will miss the final 40 games of the regular season and the first 10 games of the postseason if Oakland advances that far. Any remainder of the suspension would be served in a future season, if Colon signs another major league contract.
"It's a shock," Oakland reliever Grant Balfour said. "He's a guy that we're definitely relying on right now. I guess you could say it's bad timing any time, but especially now."
Oakland, which hasn't made the playoffs since 2006, began Wednesday a half-game out in the AL wild-card race. The A's were preparing for an afternoon series finale with the Minnesota Twins at the Coliseum when they got the news from the clubhouse TVs. A closed-door team meeting was quickly called.
"The Oakland Athletics are disappointed to learn of today's suspension," the team said in a statement.
The 39-year-old Colon is 10-9 with a 3.43 ERA in 24 starts this season, his first with the A's, and has a 171-122 record in 15 big league seasons. He was due to start Thursday in Tampa.
Word going around is, Nick Swisher, the Yankees' eternally upbeat rightfield power supply, may seek a "Jayson Werth contract" when he hits free agency at the end of the year.Heyman goes on to explain the stats, and yes, they are pretty close. That said, the Yankees, or any team, would be absolutely crazy to give Swisher that kind of deal and I'm almost 100% sure they won't come close.
To baseball fans, that is well-known to mean $126 million over seven years. In other words, it's a lot more money than most folks have guessed so far for Swish.
Second-hand or not, some Yankees people have heard that's the figure Swisher is thinking about and may at least shoot for, and one other source who's spoken to Swisher said that, indeed, Swisher has shown real interest in Werth's deal. It's believed the two sides have had no extension talks yet, as it is team policy to wait for free agency, except in rare cases.
While the $126-million figure is two to three times more than most of the estimates for Swisher, free agency brings some surprises. The Werth deal, for instance.
Swisher initially gave the usual player-speak answer, "I haven't thought about it,'' when asked if he sees the Werth deal as a fair comp for him. I tried to lighten the mood by asking if he had ever "heard'' of the Werth contract, and Swisher characteristically responded by laughing uproariously. We both know, of course, that any corner outfielder who's a very good player having a very good year (but is a bit short of being a cornerstone player) has to have thought long and hard about the Werth deal.
Eventually, he did say about Werth's Nationals contract, "It's a great deal for him.'' And then Swisher did challenge me to look at the record.
"Check it out,'' Swisher implored me. "See what it says.''
So I did. And statistically speaking, it's pretty darned close between the two corner outfielders.
1. Executive No. 1. Werth is better because he can play center field as well as right field and has a better postseason track record than Swisher (that's one area where Werth has outdone Swisher).I highlight the 2nd executive's comments because those, to me, are all that matter. Just because one guy gets a crazy deal doesn't mean anyone else, or the original players, is worth it or deserves it. Also, the $45 or $60 million deals are much reasonable and realistic. That is what Swisher needs to realize heading into free agency, or at the very least the Yankees have to realize it. Executive number 4 was also pretty accurate in his assessment of the situation.
2. Executive No. 2. It doesn't matter how they match up because 'the Werth deal is insane.'' That exec said he could see Swisher getting $45 million for three years, or $60 million for four, which is well short of Werth and more along the lines of the usual projections.
3. Executive No. 3. Swisher's case isn't crazy considering the Werth contract. (That exec may well have studied the numbers.)
4. Executive No. 4. Laughter. That exec apparently felt the idea iof Swisher being a $126-million player was quite amusing.
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